Enhancing Writing Skills in English: A Professional Development Workshop Overview
State of Kuwait Scholastic Year 2022/2023
Ministry of Education Private Education
E.L.T Supervision Second Term
Professional Development Program
Teaching Writing
Mr. Mamdouh El-Sheikh
Mrs.Wafaa Aljeraiwi
ELT Acting Senior Supervisor:
At the end of this workshop, teachers should
At the end of this workshop, teachers should
be able to:
be able to:
•
Recognize the process of teaching writing.
Recognize the process of teaching writing.
•
Discover some useful techniques when
Discover some useful techniques when
teaching writing.
teaching writing.
W
h
a
t
i
s
w
r
i
t
i
n
g
?
Group Discussion
4
5
Why is writing
important?
6
We need to write because:
1. Writing is an Essential Communication Skill
2. Creative Writing Engages Both Sides of the Brain
3. It Helps You Think Through Problems
4. Written Word Influences Society
5. We Wouldn’t Have Our History Without Writing
6. You’re More Likely to Achieve Written Goals
To be a successful writer in English, you
need to learn:
The writing style of the English language
The words of the language
The grammar of the English language
Writing in English:
Different languages use different writing styles of
organization. English is fairly simple. English
speakers expect to read an article that has a
beginning, a middle and an end. The beginning
should say what the article is about, the middle
talks about the details of the topic and the end
tells what the topic was about.
This is what I will write about
I am writing about it here
This is what I wrote about
Basic academic writing in English is linear in structure that has…
Beginning
Middle
End
Topic sentence
The body which is made up of sequence of sentences. They are
called
supporting sentences.
A concluding sentence
that ends the paragraph by reminding the
reader of the main point of the paragraph.
What is a paragraph?
The basic unit of academic writing in English.
All other types of academic writing, such as essays,
reports, compositions and research papers are based on
the paragraph.
A paragraph develops
ONE main idea
through a series of related
sentences.
This main idea is
usually
introduced in the
first sentence
of the
paragraph, called the
topic sentence
. The idea is then developed further
through the sentences that follow.
A paragraph has a
topic sentence
,
supporting details,
and a
concluding
sentence
.
13
What is a topic sentence?
It contains the
main idea
of the paragraph. It has
two main parts.
Topic :
It has the subject of the paragraph.
Controlling idea :
It limits the topic of the paragraph and shows an aspect of
the topic that needs to be explored.
The Characteristics of
a good topic sentence
•
The topic sentence should aim at persuading the reader of the writer’s
point of view.
•
It should have a clear point of view, which is the writer’s opinion.
•
A statement of fact is not an effective topic sentence because there is
nothing more that can be said about it
International Women’s Day is on March 8
th
.
International Women’s Day is important for many reasons.
( Fact )
( Opinion )
Look at these two sentences: Which one of them can be a good topic
sentence and why?
Task ( 1 )
Read the following sentences to identify the topic and the controlling ideas,
and decide if it is a good topic sentence and why?
•
Going to a big holiday party is like a punishment to me.
•
There are many reasons to stay at home on holidays.
•
Independence Day is a holiday in any country.
•
It’s important to honor your mother on Mother’s Day.
•
Rain can ruin a picnic.
Holiday party
(Topic)
/
A punishment to me
(opinion)
Independence Day
(Topic) /
A holiday in any country
(fact)
Staying at home on holidays
(Topic)
/
There are many reasons
(opinion)
Honoring your mother
(Topic) /
It’s important
(opinion)
Rain
(Topic) /
Ruin a picnic
(Opinion)
Task ( 2 )
From our the intermediate
English textbooks, formulate
good topic sentences
.
Kuwait is a wonderful
country.
Kuwait lies on the
Arabian Gulf.
The Body Paragraph
It contains the supporting sentences that explain
the topic sentence.
To do support the topic sentence, there are many ways:
•
Facts
•
Examples
•
Illustrations based on personal experience
Major & Minor supporting sentences:
In terms of organization, especially of expository paragraphs,
there are two types of supporting sentences:
•
Major
•
Minor
Golden Week in Japan is a celebration of four holidays.
The first takes place on April 29
th
, the birthday of the
Emperor Showa , and commemorates the 64 years that
he was in power. It is a time for the Japanese people to
remember this important period in their history.
Topic Sentence:
Golden Week in Japan is a celebration of four holidays.
Major supporting sentence
Minor supporting sentence:
The first takes place on April 29
th
, the birthday of the Emperor
Showa , and commemorates the 64 years that he was in power.
It is a time for the Japanese people to remember this important
period in their history.
Examples from the intermediate books
The Topic sentence (TS)
………………………………………………
The Major supporting sentence(SS)
……………………………………………….
The minor supporting Sentence(ss)
………………………………………………..
The Concluding Sentence
The concluding sentence
Usually, a concluding sentence is a restatement of the
topic sentence.
It gives the same information as the topic sentence, but
expressed in a different way.
Concluding sentences usually start with a transition word.
Less common way to conclude a paragraph is to write a
sentence that summarizes the main points in the body of the
paragraph.
Paragraph Format
What are the rules for paragraph
format?
Paragraph Format
1. Put your name and the date in the upper righthand corner.
2. Center your title on the next line.
3. Indent the first sentence by using the tab key or by going in five spaces to
the right.
4. Start each sentence with a capital letter.
5. End each sentence with a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point.
6. Begin each sentence where the previous sentence ends.
7. Write on every other line. This is called double-spacing.
8. Put margins of about one inch on each side of the paper.
34
34
Task 3:
Based on your experience, what are the
steps you follow when teaching writing?
After collecting data from students, it’s very important to show them how to transfer
the suggested ideas into a paragraph by giving them a sample such as:
“Last night, I was so happy. I couldn’t imagine that I would meet my best friend after
a long absence. We started talking about our memories at schools. Then, he invited
me to his house where he showed me some pictures about our past time. After that,
we decided to fix another date to spend more time together. Finally, I went back
home so proud of our friendship.”
*Students have to read the paragraph and put a line under the main idea and two
lines under the supporting details.
*They have to justify the use of the past tense and circle all the verbs in the
paragraph.
*They have to justify the utility of punctuation when writing a paragraph.
35
35
MODELED WRITING:
36
36
Another main approach is “The Writing Process”.
The Writing Process:
1. Analyzing the
assignment.
4. Writing the first
draft.
1. Analyzing the assignment.
The first step is be sure that your students understand the
assignment so that they can give you what is asked for.
“Write a well-organized paragraph giving advice to a person
who wants to learn a foreign language. Use your own
knowledge. Please submit your paragraph by noon on Monday.
I will only accept typed paper.”
(N.B)
the students ask themselves the following questions:
what, why, where, how long, When and how.
1. Analyzing the assignment.
2. Brainstorming:
To ‘brainstorm’ means to write down ideas of all kinds – good or
bad- on a piece of paper. Don’t evaluate the ideas at this stage
because in brainstorming, all ideas are equal. You will evaluate at
the next stage.
Using mind map
Start with a circle in the middle of a piece of paper. Write the
topic of the assignment inside the circle. Then start ideas you
associate with the topic around the circle. You can use lines to
point to the various ideas, you can use arrows to show that ideas
are related, or you can put related ideas in smaller circles. In
other words, there is no right or wrong way
.
41
42
43
An Assignment
“What was (or is) your favourite subject in high school? What made it your
favourite? Please type your paragraph and submit it as an attachment to an
e-mail by midnight on Sunday.”
Favourite
class
PE
Ugly
uniform
Feel healthy
and look
good
Made
some
friends
Nice PE
teacher
Get
outside
Run laps –
out of sight
Color in summer
Fresh air
No air conditioning
Away from hot classroom
Ok to listen to MP3 player
Some friends didn’t have
MP3
Chat with friends while
running
Blue shorts
Pink shirts
Kind, friendly
Year before- too
difficult.
Using column
To use this technique, fold a piece of paper lengthwise in two, three or four to
create two, three or four columns. Write the general topic, favorite class at the
top of paper. Then write a key word – of any kind- at the top of each column.
Now start writing down all kind of words that come to mind under the heading
of each column.
Reasons
Get out of classroom
Could choose to run
laps
PE teacher
example
Always hot in classroom
Chance to chat with
friends
Kind
friendly
details
No AC
Meet some friends
Nicer than history
Teacher
Let us use MP3
Nobody looked good in
them
Strong muscles
Can do more things
Learned more sports
Favourite Class – Physical Education
Free writing
Start with a word or a phrase and write down anything you think of
that is related to the topic. Instead of listing a lot of points, try to
write complete sentences. When you get stuck, just start writing
more about one of the previous words and continue writing about
that. Don’t worry about grammar, punctuation or spelling because
no one else will see your freewriting. The most important aspect of
free writing is to not allow yourself to stop. Just let your ideas and
imagination flow. Here is an example of a free writing exercise
about the topic “favorite high school subject.”
Free writing
Favorite subject- lots! I enjoyed many of my classes. But,
well, PE was my favorite. I got out of the hot classroom. I
was always so hot! No AC in our school, summers were
awful. Also- best thing was running laps. No one could see
us. We could pull out our mp3 and listen to music and run
around. But those uniforms- so ugly! Pink and blue! Got
stronger because of PE classes. At the end of the year, I
could see my muscles! Also, I learned some new sports.
Ok, the best thing about the HS was the PE.
3. Organising your ideas:
You will probably find that you can write many different
paragraphs from the ideas in your brainstorming. Now you need
to organize your ideas. Step 3 has three stages:
•
Write your topic sentence.
•
Eliminate irrelevant ideas.
•
Make an outline and add relevant ideas.
4. Writing the first draft:
Now you are ready to turn the ideas in your outline into
complete sentences and write the sentences in good
paragraph format. This draft of your paragraph is just for you, so
again don’t worry about grammar or punctuation. Here is the
first draft of the paragraph about the student’s favorite class.
My favorite high school class was phys ed for a lot
of reasons. My school was in city, and it was always
hot in summer. We never had air conditioning.
Secondly, we were aloud to run laps instead of
other things. So we ran around where no one could
see us. And the PE teacher was so nice!
Encouraging, too. We played our MP3s and
chatted while we were running. It was great. Next I
felt healthier and stronger- even slept better! My PE
class was a wonderful part of high school.
5. Rewriting the first draft:
The next step is to rewrite your paragraph. Rewriting consists of
two parts:
Revising
and
Editing
.
Revising
When you revise a paragraph, you check the organization of
your paragraph and look at your ideas. Ask yourself questions
like these:
•
Does the paragraph have unity.
•
Are there enough minor supporting ideas for the major supporting sentences?
•
Do the supporting sentences have good coherence?
•
Is there good cohesion?
A paragraph has coherence when the supporting sentences are
ordered according to a principle. The sentences are put in order so
that the reader can understand your ideas easily.
The principles for ordering depend on the type of paragraph you
are writing.
There are three main types of paragraphs:
* Narrative paragraphs
* Descriptive Paragraphs
* Expository paragraphs
55
Coherence
How can we achieve
coherence in each type of a
paragraph?
Cohesion:
Lexical cohesion
:
it can be realized by “
repetition of words
&
lexical sets
”
Grammatical cohesion
:
it can be achieved through:
Pronoun and possessive reference
:
Tense agreement
:
using a relative tense makes the text cohesive
Linkers
:
words that explain the text relationships of “addition, contrast, giving
examples, comparing, …etc”
57
Editing
When you edit a paragraph, look at the grammar, spelling,
word forms and punctuation. Since many of your editing
mistakes may be eliminated when you revise the paragraph.
You should always edit your writing after you revise it.
Look again at the first draft of the paragraph, note the points for revision
and editing that the writer has made. Can you think of any others?
My favorite high school class was
phys
ed
for a lot of
reasons. My school was in city, and it was always hot in
summer.
We never had air conditioning
. Secondly, we
were aloud to run laps
instead of other things. So
we ran
around where no one could see us. And the PE teacher
was so nice!
Encouraging, too
. We played our MP3s and
chatted while we were running. It was great. Next I felt
healthier and stronger- even slept better! My PE class was
a wonderful part of high school.
Need little
Physical education
Add transition
Not clear reason
therefore
Add other reason?
Not complete sentence
In short,
6. Writing the final paper (or next draft):
The last step in the writing process is writing a clean version of the
paragraph with all the revisions and editing carried out. This draft is
the one that you will turn in, so be sure that you use good
paragraph format.
Here is the final draft of the paragraph:
Physical Education
My favourite high school class was physical education for a
lot of reasons. First of all, My school was in city, and it was
always too hot in the classroom. Going outside to the fresh air
was such a relief. Secondly, we were aloud to run laps instead
of lifting weight or playing basketball. Therefore, we ran
around where no one could see us. We could listen to our
MP3s and chat with friends as long we were running.
Moreover, the PE teacher was great. He was so kind and
encouraging. I needed that. Finally, I felt so much healthier
and even started to sleep better. In short, my PE class was a
wonderful part of high school for me.
This workshop organized by the State of Kuwait Ministry of Education focuses on teaching effective writing techniques to educators. Participants will learn the process of teaching writing, discover useful strategies, and understand the importance of writing in communication and problem-solving. The event aims to enhance educators' skills in guiding students to become successful English writers.
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State of Kuwait Ministry of Education E.L.T Supervision State of Kuwait Scholastic Year Ministry of Education E.L.T Supervision Scholastic Year 2022 Private Education Second Term 2022/ /2023 2023 Private Education Second Term Professional Development Program Teaching Writing Mr. Mamdouh El Mrs.Wafaa ELT Acting Senior Supervisor: Professional Development Program Mr. Mamdouh El- -Sheikh Mrs.Wafaa Aljeraiwi ELT Acting Senior Supervisor: Sheikh Aljeraiwi
Teaching writing Related image
At the end of this workshop, teachers should be able to: Recognize the process of teaching writing. Discover some useful techniques when teaching writing.
4 What is writing? Group Discussion
5 Writing is a process of conveying our thought in a written form. It can be a book, a story, a letter, a novel and so on. Writing is a way of expressing ideas. "Writing is a way of talking without being interrupted.
6 Why is writing important?
We need to write because: 1. Writing is an Essential Communication Skill 2. Creative Writing Engages Both Sides of the Brain 3. It Helps You Think Through Problems 4. Written Word Influences Society 5. We Wouldn t Have Our History Without Writing 6. You re More Likely to Achieve Written Goals
To be a successful writer in English, you need to learn: The writing style of the English language The words of the language The grammar of the English language
Writing in English: Different languages use different writing styles of organization. English is fairly simple. English speakers expect to read an article that has a beginning, a middle and an end. The beginning should say what the article is about, the middle talks about the details of the topic and the end tells what the topic was about.
This is what I will write about I am writing about it here This is what I wrote about
Basic academic writing in English is linear in structure that has Beginning Topic sentence Middle The body which is made up of sequence of sentences. They are called supporting sentences. End A concluding sentence that ends the paragraph by reminding the reader of the main point of the paragraph.
What is a paragraph? The basic unit of academic writing in English. All other types of academic writing, such as essays, reports, compositions and research papers are based on the paragraph.
Writing a paragraph 13 A paragraph develops ONE main idea through a series of related sentences. This main idea is usually introduced in the first sentence of the paragraph, called the topic sentence. The idea is then developed further through the sentences that follow. A paragraph has a topic sentence, supporting details, and a concluding sentence.
What is a topic sentence? It contains the main idea of the paragraph. It has two main parts. Topic : It has the subject of the paragraph. Controlling idea : It limits the topic of the paragraph and shows an aspect of the topic that needs to be explored.
The Characteristics of a good topic sentence
The topic sentence should aim at persuading the reader of the writers point of view. It should have a clear point of view, which is the writer s opinion. A statement of fact is not an effective topic sentence because there is nothing more that can be said about it Look at these two sentences: Which one of them can be a good topic sentence and why? International Women s Day is on March 8th. ( Fact ) International Women s Day is important for many reasons. ( Opinion )
Task ( 1 ) Read the following sentences to identify the topic and the controlling ideas, and decide if it is a good topic sentence and why? Going to a big holiday party is like a punishment to me. Independence Day is a holiday in any country. There are many reasons to stay at home on holidays. It s important to honor your mother on Mother s Day. Rain can ruin a picnic.
Holiday party (Topic) / A punishment to me (opinion) Independence Day (Topic) /A holiday in any country (fact) Staying at home on holidays (Topic)/There are many reasons (opinion) Honoring your mother(Topic) / It s important (opinion) Rain(Topic) / Ruin a picnic (Opinion)
Task ( 2 ) From our the intermediate English textbooks, formulate good topic sentences.
Kuwait lies on the Arabian Gulf. Kuwait is a wonderful country.
It contains the supporting sentences that explain the topic sentence. To do support the topic sentence, there are many ways: Facts Examples Illustrations based on personal experience
Major & Minor supporting sentences: In terms of organization, especially of expository paragraphs, there are two types of supporting sentences: Major Minor
Golden Week in Japan is a celebration of four holidays. The first takes place on April 29th, the birthday of the Emperor Showa , and commemorates the 64 years that he was in power. It is a time for the Japanese people to remember this important period in their history.
Topic Sentence: Golden Week in Japan is a celebration of four holidays. Major supporting sentence The first takes place on April 29th, the birthday of the Emperor Showa , and commemorates the 64 years that he was in power. Minor supporting sentence: It is a time for the Japanese people to remember this important period in their history.
The Topic sentence (TS) The Major supporting sentence(SS) . The minor supporting Sentence(ss) ..
The concluding sentence Usually, a concluding sentence is a restatement of the topic sentence. It gives the same information as the topic sentence, but expressed in a different way. Concluding sentences usually start with a transition word. Less common way to conclude a paragraph is to write a sentence that summarizes the main points in the body of the paragraph.
Paragraph Format What are the rules for paragraph format?
Paragraph Format 1. Put your name and the date in the upper righthand corner. 2. Center your title on the next line. 3. Indent the first sentence by using the tab key or by going in five spaces to the right. 4. Start each sentence with a capital letter. 5. End each sentence with a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point. 6. Begin each sentence where the previous sentence ends. 7. Write on every other line. This is called double-spacing. 8. Put margins of about one inch on each side of the paper.
34 Task 3: Based on your experience, what are the steps you follow when teaching writing?
MODELED WRITING: After collecting data from students, it s very important to show them how to transfer the suggested ideas into a paragraph by giving them a sample such as: 35 Last night, I was so happy. I couldn t imagine that I would meet my best friend after a long absence. We started talking about our memories at schools. Then, he invited me to his house where he showed me some pictures about our past time. After that, we decided to fix another date to spend more time together. Finally, I went back home so proud of our friendship. *Students have to read the paragraph and put a line under the main idea and two lines under the supporting details. *They have to justify the use of the past tense and circle all the verbs in the paragraph. *They have to justify the utility of punctuation when writing a paragraph.
Another main approach is The Writing Process. 36 Writing as a process involves: Thought-showering or brainstorming notes, ideas, words and phrases about a topic. Categorising and ordering the ideas according to the task requirements. Writing a first draft. Revising the first draft by improving content and accuracy. Implementing the improvements in the re-written text.
The Writing Process: 3. Organising your ideas. 2.brainstorming. 1. Analyzing the assignment. Write the topic sentence Eliminate ideas Make an outline and add ideas. 5.Rewriting the first draft. Revise edit 4. Writing the first draft. 6.Writing the next (or final) draft.
1. Analyzing the assignment. The first step is be sure that your students understand the assignment so that they can give you what is asked for. Write a well-organized paragraph giving advice to a person who wants to learn a foreign language. Use your own knowledge. Please submit your paragraph by noon on Monday. I will only accept typed paper. (N.B) the students ask themselves the following questions: what, why, where, how long, When and how.
1. Analyzing the assignment. Answer question (For the assignment) Advice for learning a foreign language. To show my ability to organize a concept. From what I already know What Is the topic? Why Am I writing? Do I get the information? Is the paper? Is the due? Do I present it? Where How long When how One paragraph Monday at noon typed
2. Brainstorming: To brainstorm means to write down ideas of all kinds good or bad- on a piece of paper. Don t evaluate the ideas at this stage because in brainstorming, all ideas are equal. You will evaluate at the next stage. Using mind map Start with a circle in the middle of a piece of paper. Write the topic of the assignment inside the circle. Then start ideas you associate with the topic around the circle. You can use lines to point to the various ideas, you can use arrows to show that ideas are related, or you can put related ideas in smaller circles. In other words, there is no right or wrong way.
An Assignment What was (or is) your favourite subject in high school? What made it your favourite? Please type your paragraph and submit it as an attachment to an e-mail by midnight on Sunday.
Color in summer Fresh air No air conditioning Away from hot classroom Blue shorts Pink shirts Ugly uniform Feel healthy and look good Get outside Favourite class PE Made some friends Run laps out of sight Ok to listen to MP3 player Some friends didn t have MP3 Chat with friends while running Nice PE teacher Kind, friendly Year difficult. before- too
Using column To use this technique, fold a piece of paper lengthwise in two, three or four to create two, three or four columns. Write the general topic, favorite class at the top of paper. Then write a key word of any kind- at the top of each column. Now start writing down all kind of words that come to mind under the heading of each column.
Favourite Class Physical Education details example Reasons No AC Meet some friends Nicer than history Teacher Let us use MP3 Nobody looked good in them Strong muscles Can do more things Learned more sports Always hot in classroom Chance to chat with friends Kind friendly Get out of classroom Could choose to run laps PE teacher
Free writing Start with a word or a phrase and write down anything you think of that is related to the topic. Instead of listing a lot of points, try to write complete sentences. When you get stuck, just start writing more about one of the previous words and continue writing about that. Don t worry about grammar, punctuation or spelling because no one else will see your freewriting. The most important aspect of free writing is to not allow yourself to stop. Just let your ideas and imagination flow. Here is an example of a free writing exercise about the topic favorite high school subject.
Free writing Favorite subject- lots! I enjoyed many of my classes. But, well, PE was my favorite. I got out of the hot classroom. I was always so hot! No AC in our school, summers were awful. Also- best thing was running laps. No one could see us. We could pull out our mp3 and listen to music and run around. But those uniforms- so ugly! Pink and blue! Got stronger because of PE classes. At the end of the year, I could see my muscles! Also, I learned some new sports. Ok, the best thing about the HS was the PE.
3. Organising your ideas: You will probably find that you can write many different paragraphs from the ideas in your brainstorming. Now you need to organize your ideas. Step 3 has three stages: Write your topic sentence. Eliminate irrelevant ideas. Make an outline and add relevant ideas.
